* [37:18] The firmament…mirror: the ancients thought of the sky as a ceiling above which were the “upper waters” (cf. Gn 1:6–7; 7:11); when this ceiling became as hard as metal, the usual rain failed to fall on the earth (cf. Lv 26:19; Dt 28:23).

* [37:21] Elihu argues that even though God seems not to know our circumstances, he does know them, just as surely as the sun shines behind the clouds.

* [37:22] Zaphon: the mythical mountain of the gods; cf. note on 26:7.

* [37:24] The concluding remark of Elihu is ironic in view of the appearance of the Lord in the next chapter and Job’s claim in 42:5.

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